


The Usual Arrangement

by Lady Adain (pocketTherapist)



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Mafia AU, UraIchi Week 2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2020-03-17 15:19:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18967897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketTherapist/pseuds/Lady%20Adain
Summary: Legally, Kurosaki Isshin is an entrepreneur, from a family of entrepreneurs. He owns the three largest nightclubs in Karakura and the only sanctioned casino, as well.Legally, is the key word there.The Underworld knows a little better. Kurosaki Isshin runs the Kurosaki family, which has been one of the five Elder Families of the Karakura Underworld for over a century now. They’re respected, in a way that means they don’t necessarily have to be feared, and they hold the highest position in the Underworld by means of a combination of diplomacy, firepower, and sheer bloody-minded insanity.Which is why Ichigo is standing here, intensely uncomfortable, as the Shihouin family attendant presents their latest offering.It’s a person.





	1. Chapter 1

Legally, Kurosaki Isshin is an entrepreneur, from a family of entrepreneurs. He owns the three largest nightclubs in Karakura and the only sanctioned casino, as well. 

 

Legally, is the key word there. 

 

The Underworld knows a little better. Kurosaki Isshin runs the Kurosaki family, which has been one of the five Elder Families of the Karakura Underworld for over a century now. They’re respected, in a way that means they don’t necessarily  _ have _ to be feared, and they hold the highest position in the Underworld by means of a combination of diplomacy, firepower, and sheer bloody-minded insanity. 

 

Which is why Ichigo is standing here, intensely uncomfortable, as the Shihouin family attendant presents their latest offering. 

 

It’s a person. 

 

The blond head is still bowed deferentially, but Ichigo knows from his initial look that the man is barely older than Ichigo-- perhaps twenty six to Ichigo's twenty two. He's wearing a plain, forest green kimono shirt and slightly darker hakama, and no adornments. His fingers have curled lightly into the fabric of his pants.

 

The Shihouin attendant, Sui Feng, is still talking. 

 

"... felt that Yoruichi-sama could, perhaps, branch out from her childhood friends and take on another retainer. In such a light, they saw the possible benefit to sending her former attendant to the Shiba family, as a diplomat and gesture of good will."

 

In short, Ichigo translates darkly, there was little the Shihouin Oyabun could do to control her, and after her latest gambling heist at the expense of the Shiba, they thought to punish her by taking away her friend and using him as a hostage to her future good behavior. Next time she steps out of line, he will suffer, as they no doubt intended. 

 

They've given him a servant and a whipping boy, and he will  _ have _ to be Ichigo's, from one clan heir to another. 

 

Sometimes Ichigo truly hates all the political dancing around. They're the Underworld; shouldn't they be able to say what they really mean? 

 

Over an hour later, the meeting concludes, and it is with some relief that Ichigo steps from the room, leaving the temporary care of his new charge to his own retainers. 

 

That evening, when he gets back to his room, the blond is waiting for him, resting neatly on his knees beside the kotatsu. Ichigo stares, and the waiting man folds down into a perfect formal bow.

 

"Good evening, Shiba-sama. How may this one be of service?"

 

Ichigo is uncomfortably reminded of a traditional wedding scene. 

 

“I’m fine, thank you. You don’t have to...bow, or whatever.”

 

The man straightens, eyes attentively on Ichigo, and the Shiba heir abruptly realizes he hasn’t even asked after his name.

 

“What do I call you, anyway? I’m Shiba Ichigo.”

 

“This one is called Urahara Kisuke, Shiba-sama.”

 

Ichigo jerks his head in a nod and moves over to the wardrobe, intent on a long bath to wash away the sheer  _ weirdness _ of today. He only realizes his mistake when the action brings Urahara hurrying over to take the towel and clothes from him. Ichigo wants to tell him it’s not necessary, but he can’t quite bring himself to just send the other away again, either, can’t afford to reject the Shihouin’s “gift” and unwilling to make the other feel unwelcome. 

 

Bloody fucking politics. 

 

Urahara is utterly attentive throughout the rest of the evening, and when Ichigo finally heads for bed, the man is kneeling at his bedside, head down. His voice, when he speaks, is worryingly flat.

 

“Shiba-sama. How do you want me?”

 

Ichigo considers this for half a second before he grasps the implications, and then grimaces. It wouldn’t be outside his “rights,” but Ichigo has never been able to stomach even the concept of rape, and taking anything from his new attendant would be nothing less.

 

“I’m not going to touch you without your consent. There’s a futon in the closet, if you would like to set it up.” 

 

The blond head jerks up for a moment, and grey eyes fixate on Ichigo’s face through the veil of hair. 

 

The look on his face cuts Ichigo to the core, and he has to turn his own face away lest he betray himself. 

 

“Sir… what about my punishment?”

 

Ichigo blinks in confusion, the non sequitur throwing him off.

 

“What punishment?”

 

He glances back over, but Urahara has ducked his head again. 

 

“For Yoruichi-sama’s, ah, indiscretion? If it pleases you, this one would prefer to have it done with now.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's like 20 words longer than last chapter but at least it exists ok let me die in peace

It takes Ichigo nearly half an hour to convince the man that Ichigo has no intention of taking Yoruichi’s behavior out on Urahara’s hide, and even then, he’s not sure his new attendant believes him, or if he’s just being humored. 

 

He can’t  _ believe _ the Shihouin sent him someone they  _ expected _ him to torture. If nothing else, what he knows of Yoruichi doesn’t line up with that sort of thing. Then again, she’s not Oyabun, yet, and likely has little say in what they do to her retainers. 

 

Ichigo saw the whip scars on his back, though, and if that’s not a result of Yoruichi’s misbehaviors, he’ll eat his hat. 

 

The knowledge keeps him up long after Urahara has settled into his own futon--although Ichigo doubts he’s sleeping any better than Ichigo is, himself. He’s an heir himself, and although the Shiba are renowned for doing things a little...differently, he’s  _ never _ had to watch himself in case his behavior is taken out on another. He can’t decide if he’s angrier at the Shihouin clan, for their barbaric practices, or Yoruichi, for letting such a thing happen in the first place, as a result of her carelessness.

 

Then again, he’s an heir, and he can’t afford to offend the Shihouin by rejecting their gift, or starting a blood feud, or even wandering over and beating someone up thoroughly. 

 

Sometimes he  _ hates _ this. Then again, if it’s not him, it’d be Yuzu or Karin, and Karin is like him enough to hate it, and Yuzu--actually might be  _ terrifyingly _ good at it, but Ichigo doesn’t want to trap her into that, either. 

 

He hardly notices when the chaos in his head subsides and he slips into sleep.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Kisuke lies awake for long hours, fists clenching and relaxing at his sides as he forces himself into stillness, waiting for--something. He doesn’t know what. If he were at the Shihouin estate, he’d have been in the isolation cell, not sleeping, Part of him fears that Shiba-sama will change his mind, will drag Kisuke out of his futon and take him anyway, but against all reason, he thinks his master was being serious when he said he wasn’t going to touch Kisuke without consent.

 

It doesn’t mean anything, not really; Kisuke will offer consent whenever duty requires it of him, but it’s a nice thought. It’ll give him at least the illusion of control, if nothing else. 

 

He wonders if Yoruichi has even noticed he’s gone, yet, if she’d come storming into his little closet to fetch him for something and found him absent. 

 

...at least he won’t be present for the ensuing tantrum. Part of him, the vicious, cold part always churning in the back of his mind, hopes that Soi Fon will bear the brunt of their mistress’ displeasure.  _ Let _ her have Yoruichi-sama to herself, for now, and see how she enjoys it. 

 

Perhaps Shiba-sama will have a better control on his temper.

 

_ Hah. _

 

Eventually, once the first light of dawn begins to lighten the room into shades of grey, Kisuke gives up on sleep and settles into a pose for meditation, trying to quiet the endless swirl of his thoughts enough to regain mastery of himself, at least a little. 

 

He still jumps out of his skin, an hour later, when the door to Shiba-sama’s room  _ slams _ open, the intruder not bothering with subtlety as they launch themselves bodily toward the bed, poised for a blow that could  _ easily _ break a neck. 

 

Kisuke isn’t as fast as Yoruichi-sama, he wasn’t bred for speed, but growing up as a retainer of the Shihouins means he’s quick enough for this, at least. He intercepts the man midair, sending them both tumbling to the ground, as Shiba-sama bolts upright behind him. He swears to himself, for a moment, about his distinct lack of weaponry, no matter that coming armed to Shiba territory would have meant execution. 

 

He’s not  _ quite _ as lethal with hand-to-hand, but he’s decent, and he has the much larger attacker pinned less than a second later, one hand on the back of the man’s head and the other wrenching an arm up behind him as the intruder flails. 

 

Shiba-sama looks over at them, groans, and falls back on the bed to drape his arm over his eyes. 

 

“ _ Daaaaaad,  _ oh my  _ god, _ what the  _ hell, _ old man! You can’t keep doing this shit--I’m twenty- _ two _ , and one of these days I’m gonna actually kill you, and there’s no way on  _ earth _ I want to be Oyabun just yet."

 

Kisuke pauses.

 

Looks at the man he’s got pinned to the floor. 

  
Ah,  _ shit. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, you should be floored this chapter exists at all. this month has been terrible--although not as bad as November, actually. 
> 
> happy -fuckin- birthday i guess

Ichigo kicks Isshin out on his ass, ignoring the man’s wailed protests, and wanders back into his bedroom to deal with the terrified retainer, who's straightened into seiza, face white and lips firmly pressed together. He bows again when Ichigo walks in, and Ichigo can see the way his hands tremble. 

 

He heaves a sigh and seats himself across from his man. 

 

"Urahara. Thank you for your quick defense. You performed admirably, and I can tell you from experience that half the Shiba retainers don't do nearly as well when faced with kamikaze attacks at dawn. Oyajii calls it training, but it's really more that he's  _ actually insane _ . I'm not gonna get after you for that. He deserves it, and, well, we're the Shibas. Brawling is kind of just how we show affection. You don't have to deal with him if you don't want to, but he's not going to do anything, so feel free to punt him into a wall or two if you want. We don't do any of that punishment shit, and they'd leave you alone anyway, because you're mine."

 

He offers the man a wry smile, noting that Urahara's color has returned a little. Then he stands with a grunt, offering the other his hand. 

 

"C'mon, I'll show you where we do breakfast."

 

They get accosted by no fewer than three different Shiba, each enthusiastically mimicking their leader and attacking immediately. True to his word, he sends each of them flying, and one of them even warbles out a thank you before he staggers away. Urahara looks pretty stunned, but Ichigo figures that if he's kept up with Yoruichi for any length of time, he'll be able to adjust to their particular brand of insanity easily enough. 

 

The relative peace from breakfast lasts just long enough for Ichigo to finish his “paperwork,” the day-to-day affairs of the organization and whatever concerns his subordinates brought him. He took over most of it from his father when Oyajii took a bit of a step back, after Masaki’s death, and by now his old man is more or less content to remain a figurehead, keeping up morale and settling disputes, but otherwise not truly involved in the running of their businesses. It’s probably a good thing, too, considering Isshin’s hopeless at numbers; Ichigo doesn’t even  _ want _ to think about what might have happened if he’d not been responsible for the budgeting, these last few years. 

 

He’s explaining his various tasks to Kisuke when the door shudders under a frantic knock. The runner that pokes his head in is a little wild-eyed.

 

Apparently, Shihouin Yoruichi has demanded an audience. 

 

××××××××××××××××××××

 

Ichigo stalks down to the meeting room with something less than his usual patience, Kisuke trailing at his heels like a bewildered Labrador puppy. He offered to let the man stay in his office, rather than confront his erstwhile mistress, but he'd insisted, so-- here they are. He hopes the retainer won't get too mad with him if he tells Yoruichi a thing or two on his mind. Anyone who holds that sort of responsibility, or is having her underlings held hostage to her good behavior, should  _ know better _ . 

 

He barely makes it through the door before he’s got a manic heiress pouncing at him. Ichigo had half-expected it, so she doesn’t actually manage to claw out his eyes.

 

“Shihouin-sama! Please, restrain yourself!”

 

Yoruichi pulls up short, breathes,  _ “Kisuke _ ,” and abandons her efforts to eviscerate Ichigo in favor of tackling her former retainer. Ichigo watches, bemused, as Kisuke pats awkwardly at her shoulderblade and attempts to breathe despite her stranglehold. Eventually the Shihouin heiress lets go and offers Ichigo a cat’s grin, vaguely apologetic. 

 

“Sorry about that. It’s just that, I came back and he was  _ gone _ , I thought for sure you lot had  _ killed _ him.”

 

Ichigo blinks at her, and there’s a bit of an edge to his voice.

 

“We aren’t in the habit of murder, Shihouin-sama. Or torture.”

 

Yoruichi-- winces. At least  _ someone _ there seems to have a conscience of sorts. 

 

There’s a bit of savage satisfaction there, but it’s also reassuring to see that Kisuke’s old mistress can’t have been  _ that _ terrible, not if she’s willing to show such vulnerability in front of another Family heir. 

 

It doesn’t really mean that Ichigo’s any more likely to look favorably on the  _ rest _ of her Family, given that at least one of them is responsible for the way her retainer--whipping boy?--was treated. Then again, Ichigo has to lay at least some of the blame on her shoulders. If Chad was being held hostage to Ichigo’s good behavior, he  _ certainly _ wouldn’t have gone around doing what Yoruichi had done. 

 

Still, there’s no missing the sincerity behind her relief. 


End file.
